328 



REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 



little timber in the park. The arable area is in narrow strips along the 

 streams. Its total amount is estimated at 58 square miles. 



The Saint Charles and Greenhorn Rivers can water 155 square miles. 

 The larger part of this is at the east foot of the Wet Mountains. 



The Fontaine Qui Bouille can irrigate about 145 square miles, distrib- 

 uted in a narrow belt along its course. Turkey Creek can water, possi- 

 bly, 30 square miles, and Beaver Creek half as much. 



Hardscrabble Creek flows north along the east foot of the Wet Moun- 

 tains, receiving a number of little streams, making a continuous belt of 

 irrigable land at the foot of this part of the range. The area is esti- 

 mated at 37 square miles. 



In the mountains there is a small irrigable area in Pleasant Valley 

 of about 15 square miles. 'At the mouth of the South Arkansas there is, 

 perhaps, twice as much arable land on the main stream and the South 

 Fork Farther up a narrow strip of arable land extends from the 

 mouth of Chalk Creek up to the foot of the caiion, and above the canon 

 there is another narrow strip, extending up nearly to the head of the 

 river. Each of these two latter areas is about 30 square miles. 



Near the head of Oil Creek there is a valley containing between 40 and 

 45 square miles of arable land. Currant Creek has a narrow strip of ara- 

 ble land through a part of its course, amounting to about 15 square 

 miles. On the other side of the river Texas Creek has a like area of 

 arable land, situated in Wet Mountain Valley. 



The following table gives the slopes of the Arkansas from its head to 

 the eastern boundary of Colorado. The elevations are nearly all baro- 

 metric : 



Locality. 



Authority. 



"^ «• 





"1 



o '^ 





-= o 





■s^ 



a 



esO 



o 



«=« 





!?> 



CS 



> 



S^ 



pq 



Miles. 



Feet. 



332 



10, OUO 



314 



9, 586 



303 



9,089 



294 



8,620 



281 



8,317 



273 



7,877 



250 



6,500 



197 



5,300 



157 



4,670 



116 



4,371 



106 



4,091 



8-2 



3. 672 



65 



3,537 



42 



3,328 



21 



3, 1G6 







3,047 



Source in Temessee Pass 



Month Colorado Gulch 



Mouth Lake Creek 



Mouth Pine Creek 



Meiirh Cottoawoocl Creek 



Mouth Chalk Creek 



Moutti South Arkansas 



Cafion City 



Pueblo 



Mouth Apishpa River 



Twenty-four miles above Bent's Fort 

 Near Btjut's Fort 



Hayden 



do 



do 



do 



do 



do 



Kansas Pacific Railroad 



Denver and Rio Grande Railroad. 

 do 



Eaat boundary of Colorado . 



Feet. 



"ia'.'o 

 45. a 



52.1 



23.3 



55.0 



59.9 



22.6 



15.8 



7.3 



?.8.0 



17.5 



8.0 



9.1 



7.7 



5.7 



THE SAN LUIS VALLEY. 



This is the most southern of the succession of high mountain valleys, 

 and is the largest of the four. Its shape is nearly elliptical, the longer 

 axis lying about north and south. Its greatest length is about 140 miles, 

 its greatest width about 50, while the mean width is 35 or 40 miles. The 

 area is approximately 5,300 square miles. The elevation ranges from 

 7,400 to 8,000 feet. The southern third of this valley lies in New Mexico. 

 It is with the northern two thirds that we have to do. The surface of 



